Daddy to the Rescue.....although somewhat unecessarily

Now you are all really curious right? Ok, let Mommy start from the beginning. Beware: this will get long.

It all started one cold fall day in October (this was yesterday) when Mommy and Jace decided to meet Grandma F. at the mall 1 ½ hours away. This all seemed like a grand idea at the time. Grandma needed a new dress for Erin’s wedding, Mommy needed some good eating out (ok, maybe ‘needed’ isn’t exactly the right word), and Jace needed some Grandma time.

The day began great. Grandma found an outfit within ½ hour of shopping. Jace was in rare (in a good way) crazy man form. As Grandma and Mommy browsed the dresses, Jace ran wild and told Mommy he was leaving in her car. Ha, Ha laughed Mommy not thinking a thing of it.

The clothes were bought and lunch was considered. And eaten. Next, came fun in the play area and more shopping. At circa 3:30 pm. Mommy and Grandma decide they are pooped and it’s about time to head home. Mommy must first stop and get her Pumpkin Spice Latte (the fact that Pumpkin Spice Lattes actually do come decaf. has been a highlight in Mommy’s life for several weeks now). After Mommy collected her drink at Starbucks, she proceeded to put her stuff down to get Jace’s coat on him. Once he was securely bundled, the trio left the store to walk outside and look at the fountain. Except it was too cold for the water. So, they went in just 1 more store….where Mommy discovered HER PURSE WAS GONE. Now anyone who knows Mommy can testify that this purse is HER BABY! Quick panic. Quick run through Starbucks and Barnes and Noble revealed...the purse was still sitting on the stack of books she set it on while putting Jace’s coat on nearly 20 minutes prior. Whew! Back in the store, Grandma even joked that she was so worried because Mommy’s keys were in there. Remember this people.

After roughly 10 more minutes of wandering the store, Mommy and Grandma decided it really was time to go. Wait, said Mommy. I just want to get my keys out before going in the cold. Mommy rummaged through her purse. Nothing. Again, Mommy rummaged through her purse. Nothing. It is right about this point that Mommy began to panic. She suddenly had a flashback to those first 30 minutes in the mall when Jace was running around saying he was going to drive her car...with Mommy’s car keys in hand.
Mommy (with Peanut bump and all) ran frantically back to the store on the other end of the mall. No keys. To customer service. No keys. To the restaurant. No keys. The list goes on.

Mommy then returned to Grandma and Jace where Jace has been repeatedly stating that he put the keys in the bathtub. Huh? He was very consistent in his story. He kept repeating. ‘I put them in the bathtub…sorry.’ Of course, Mommy then ran all the way back to the other end of the mall to the bathroom. No keys.

Jace’s story continued. This was all coming from a kid who has a huge imagination. One minute his fork turns into a train and then next he has tons of money in his pocket. Who knew what he ‘pretended’ to be a bathtub!!

As it was now nearly 5:00, Mommy decided to go against her fears and...call Daddy. Daddy was very understanding and not nearly as upset as Mommy had feared. He agreed to get the spare set of keys and drive the 1 ½ hours to the mall. Sigh. Mommy promised to continue looking for the keys in the hopes Daddy would not have to drive the entire way.

5 minutes passed. Daddy called back. There was a new situation. He had a nail in his tire!!! Really?

Daddy called friends until he found a truck to borrow. By this time it is near 6:00. Does anyone know what happens at 6:00 on a Sunday? Yep. The mall closed.
Now, Mommy, Grandma, and Jace are stranded, homeless, keyless, waiting for a ride that is still 1 1/2 hours away. Of course Grandma couldn’t drive anywhere because Jace’s carseat was LOCKED IN MOMMY’S CAR!!

Mommy, Jace, and Grandma decided to head to a restaurant near the mall to eat. Because what else do you do at a time like that but eat.

Waiting to be seated, Jace pulled out Mommy’s box of 200-300 lemonheads she uses to quell her nausea….which, by the way, was peaking at this point. Jace proceeded to shake the box and in slow motion, the LID FLEW OPEN AND 200-300 LEMONHEADS SHOT OUT ALL OVER THE WAITING AREA FLOOR OF THE RESTAURANT. It was at approximately this time that Mommy and Grandma started laughing (out of sheer exhaustion) and could not stop. Of course Jace thought he did something spectacular because many people were laughing. It probably won’t be the last time he tries that trick..just to get a laugh.

Seriously, the story is near the end. Thanks for sticking around.

So, the lemonheads were swept up, the trio was seated, and Daddy arrived shortly after.

Ahh. The spare keys were firmly in Mommy’s hand and she and Jace were headed home..a mere 5 hours after they originally tried.

Upon their arrival home, Jace was zonked out in the back. Mommy decided to do one right thing for the day and loaded up all the junk to take in before getting Jace out. Her arms were loaded down with a million things and she was halfway to the door before she realized. Hmmm. The spare car keys don’t have a house key on them! Really, at this point there was no need to even be surprised.

Mommy and Jace (who was awake again at this point) sat in the garage and watched a movie until Daddy returned (from returning the borrowed truck) to let them in.
Finally, all seemed well. Jace was in bed. Mommy was headed there herself. Then the phone rang. It was Grandma.

The keys were in her shopping bag. One may never know if Jace placed them in the shopping bag, a.k.a bathtub, or if it was truly an adult lapse in judgment. Please keep your opinions to yourself.

That was a REALLY long story but it was nice therapy for Mommy. And, as a reward to everyone who is still reading, here are some actual visual momentos of Jace's recent happenings.

Playing in the leaves



Little Drummer Boy



Ahh, where are Mommy's keys??



2 peas in a pod